Oregon

A bill worth considering on deer population, Bend Bulletin, Jan 4, 2017Hansell went to the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, which helped him craft a legislative concept — the precursor of a bill — to deal with the situation. The measure is straightforward. If it becomes law, a pilot program would involve one community that could ask ODFW to determine if deer have reached “public nuisance” numbers. The community selected for the program would have to ban feeding and other deer-attracting activities. That done, the local government could either remove the deer or find someone to remove a specific number of animals.

Cody council votes to cull town deer herd for safety reasons, Daily Progress, Nov 3, 2016Officials in the city of Cody are moving ahead with a plan to kill 50 town-dwelling deer as a safety measure despite some community opposition. The Cody Enterprise reports City Council members voted Tuesday to have police sharpshooters cull the herd. The council told police Chief Chuck Baker to get a permit to harvest deer to prevent the destruction of private property and protect human health. Wyoming Game and Fish officials say about 300 deer have been living in city limits for the last five years. City officials say complaints are on the rise as deer become bolder, attacking dogs and potentially harming children.

Eastern Oregon city considers lethal means to control deer, KTVZ.com, July 1, 2016The city council in Union, Oregon, has discussed using lethal means to reduce the community’s deer population.
The La Grande Observer reports that citizens have been complaining about deer injuring pets and causing property damage.

Deer virus can cause foaming at the mouth, Ashland Daily Tidings, June 28, 2016A virus may affect deer population around the Ashland area. Although only a handful of sick deer have been reported this year, the adenovirus hemorrhagic disease (AHD) can spread quickly through large populations of deer.Ex-Prineville police chief critically hurt in motorcycle-deer crash, KTVZ.com, June 15, 2016A long-time Prineville police chief was critically injured Monday night when his motorcycle collided with a deer on Highway 97 north of Terrebonne, Oregon State Police confirmed.Guest Opinion: Close encounters of the deer kind, Ashland Daily Tidings, Feb 4, 2016 The doe, as is so often the case, had bolted suddenly from between cars to escape the rutting clutches of a 3-by-3 buck. Her yearling ran off. I was driving slowly enough that she was unfortunately not killed. Instead, both her front legs were obviously broken. At first she struggled to rise as I got out of the car, then when her front legs could bear no weight, she lay back along the yellow painted curb as if to wait for her inevitable end.

Guest Opinion: Time to ‘Blow away’ Bambi?, Ashland Daily Tidings, Nov 2, 2015Years ago when the deer problem was brought to the City Council, the council ordered a census. When the numbers were presented, the council opted to not yet ask the state to lessen or stabilize the deer population.

Whatever that census was, it increased. Now deer are everywhere. And some deer are so accustomed to vehicles they wander about oblivious to traffic. That will cause collisions as people increasingly brake for deer crossing our streets.
It now seems appropriate that the council ask the state to limit the municipal deer population. In other words, will it request that the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife contract with hunters on an ongoing basis to harvest, kill, shoot, cull, exterminate, limit, reduce, slaughter, execute, purge, erase or eliminate many of the town’s “Bambis?” Or can it request that deer be tranquilized and removed, likely a futile exercise?

A frequent response from Bambi-lovers is that the deer were here thousands of years before man, and therefore we lack the right to judge or take action on their numbers. When people did arrive here perhaps 15,000 years ago, we know they hunted deer, and now so should we. The Ashland City Council needs to decide on an optimum deer population and start to solve the problem by asking the state to license bow hunters to hunt on public property at the city’s fringes in early morning hours to maintain that population. But the most important thing to remember for those who want to do nothing is that deer have been aggressive. There is danger. The fears and concerns people have are real and not to be dismissed.

Deer Causes Fatal Crash West Of Eugene, MyCentralOregon.comOregon State Police are continuing the investigation into this morning’s fatal vehicle crash on Highway 126 near Green Hill Rd, just west of Eugene. He was transported to Sacred Heart River Bend Hospital for neck and head trauma. After arriving at the hospital, BASTIEN was declared deceased. Both lanes of HWY 126 were closed for some time.

Southern Oregon Towns Torn On Urban Deer Management, Oregon Public Broadcasting, May 8, 2014“The people who benefit most from the new ordinance are the fence-builders,” quips Lang, but he also admits fences have changed deer’s movements and distribution — no doubt putting more pressure on yards without them.

Are we helpless?

"The native plants are tramped down, the bushes are gnawed, and my three-year-old grandson can't play in the back yard because of the deer droppings. If humans entered our property and exacted such a toll we would have legal recourse We're watching the curb appeal and property value decline at a time when our taxes are rising. We are without defense."
M. Holland, Ann Arbor resident